Midwestern University

Core Course Descriptions

College of Pharmacy-Glendale

Prerequisites are listed for those courses with such requirements. When no prerequisite is listed in a course description, it is implied that there is no prerequisite.

Abbreviation/Number

Course Name

BIOCG 1551

Biochemistry

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This course instills basic principles in biochemistry with particular emphasis on pharmaceutical applications. Lectures address acid/base chemistry, structure and function relationships of proteins, enzymes in biochemistry, and major pathways for protein, carbohydrate, and lipid metabolism, and pertinent nutritional topics.

Credits: 3

BIOCG 1552

Molecular Biology and Human Genetics

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This course instills basic principles in molecular biology and human genetics. Lectures address nucleic acid structure, the flow of information from DNA to protein, current techniques in DNA technology including gene therapy and pharmacogenetics, the molecular basis of cancer and several topics in clinical genetics. Emphasis is placed on the pharmaceutical applications of all topics addressed.

Credits: 2

Prerequisites

BIOCG 1551 Biochemistry

COREG 1560, 1570, 1580

Interprofessional Healthcare

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The Interprofessional Healthcare course involves the Colleges of Dental Medicine, Health Sciences, Optometry, Osteopathic Medicine, Pharmacy and Veterinary Medicine. The course is designed to teach all clinically-based students about each other's clinical programs, how they might interact together as part of an interprofessional healthcare team, and the importance of an interprofessional approach to patient care. The class consists primarily of online presentations that are delivered by interprofessional team members from each of the clinical programs. Associated quizzes will also be completed online. Occasional lectures, panel presentations, or group assignments may also be incorporated.

Credits: Each course 0.5

MICRG 1513

Microbiology

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This survey course in basic and medical microbiology focuses on the more common pathogenic microorganisms that cause morbidity and mortality in humans. The pattern of discussion is uniform: etiology, epidemiology, pathogenesis and pathology, clinical manifestations, diagnosis and prevention.

Credits: 3

MICRG 1553

Immunology

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This course presents basic aspects of the body's defense system. Initial lectures address cells and organs of the immune system, complement activation, antigen processing and presentation, and cytokines. Introductory lectures are tied together later in the course with discussions of inflammation and the body's response to infectious disease. The role of the immune system in the rejection of organ transplants, autoimmunity, hypersensitivity, cancer, and AIDS are also discussed in detail. Current advances in immunotherapy and immunoprophylaxis are emphasized.

Credits: 3

PHIDG 1501-1503, 1604-1609

Integrated Sequence 1-9

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The Integrated Sequence is a series of nine sequential modules of varying lengths. Each module incorporates the principles of pathophysiology, medicinal chemistry, pharmacology, and pharmacotherapeutics utilizing an organ systems approach.

This course provides the core knowledge of physiology required by students to understand normal body function and the ability to analyze and interpret the immediate and long-term compensatory responses to common disease states of excitable cells (muscle and nervous tissue), the sensory system, and the endocrine and reproductive systems. Basic and applied terms are defined. Essential relationships between structure and function are defined and discussed.

Credits: 3

PHYSG 1502

Human Physiology 2

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This course provides core knowledge of physiology required by students of pharmacy in order to understand normal function and to acquire the ability to analyze and interpret the immediate and long-term compensatory responses to common disease states of the renal, cardiovascular, respiratory, and gastrointestinal systems. Basic and applied terms are defined. Essential relationships between structure and function are defined and discussed.

Credits: 3

PPRAG 1501-1504, 1605-1607, 1708

Professional Skills Development 1-8

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These courses integrate the skills needed to fulfill the professional responsibilities of pharmacy practice as they relate to patient-centered care and the patient care process. Principles taught in this course and the co-requisite courses will be utilized to provide the contextual framework for the skills considered.

This course presents principles of law and public policy as they relate to pharmacy practice under federal, state and local regulations. Topics include general rules and regulations governing pharmacy practice, controlled substances, Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), and public policy.

Credits: 2.5

PPRAG 1533

Patient Decision Making

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This course introduces health belief models and theories, including the patient's perspective of health, illness, and patient-provider interactions, educational assessment, and consultation related to medication use. The main goal of this course is to help students understand and empathize with patients. The course emphasizes the patient instead of focusing upon the disease. Sociological and psychological implications of living with disease are discussed. Students learn to consider how the patient feels and how they can impact patient outcomes as healthcare professionals.

Credits: 3

PPRAG 1534

Public Health and Disease Prevention

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This course focuses on key concepts pertaining to the health of populations, with an emphasis on roles that pharmacists play in disease prevention and health promotion. Particular attention is placed on practical interventions performed by pharmacists, including patient education and awareness activities, health screenings, medication safety practices, and disease prevention programs. Through this course students will also gain an understanding of the work of several social and public health agencies at the local and state levels.

Credits: 2

PPRAG 1535

Community Partnership in Public Health (1/2 of the class)

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This course is a service-learning and population-based experience in which students participate in activities that connect individual and community needs by interacting with different community leaders, identifying individual/community needs and resources. This course places students in contact with social and public health agencies working within the community in order to address the needs of the population. This course consists of weekly community activities and several campus-based activities during the quarter.

Credits: 1.5

Prerequisites

PPRAG 1534 Public Health and Disease Prevention

PPRAG 1571

Healthcare Systems

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An overview of the organization, delivery and financing of medical and pharmaceutical care in the U.S. Particular emphasis is placed on the interdependent roles of pharmacists with other healthcare providers, and the key organizations and institutions that are involved in delivering pharmaceutical care to patients. Historical perspective is provided where it contributes to an understanding of contemporary practice.

Credits: 3

PPRAG 1591

Introduction to Pharmacy Practice

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This course provides the student with a brief history and evolution of the profession of pharmacy, with a focus on career opportunities for the present and future as the role of the pharmacist continues to change in the 21st century. Students complete a self-evaluation to help determine their primary interests in practice and interact with a number of practitioners from varied practice settings.

Credits: 1

PPRAG 1665

Ethical Decision Making

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This course provides students with a guide to a lifelong pursuit of ethics in the practice of pharmacy. The course begins with a historical discussion of ethical concepts from Aristotle through modern writers and thinkers on the subject. Students are introduced to the process of ethical decision making through the use of tools, algorithms and decision trees. Students discuss questions confronting pharmacists and other healthcare professionals in today's environment.

Credits: 2

PPRAG 1667

Complementary and Alternative Medicine

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This course is designed as a survey of complementary and alternative medicine. Students will be introduced to the theory and practice of some of the more popular complementary/alternative therapies (such as dietary supplements, acupuncture, traditional Chinese medicine, homeopathy, herbal medicine, etc). The course will include the use of complementary/alternative medicine associated with common disease states. Students will have the opportunity to research and present a complementary/alternative treatment to the class.

This course introduces students to statistics and research design. The course covers basic statistical concepts, techniques, notations and computations including descriptive and inferential statistics with an emphasis on statistical methods, computerized data analysis and data assessments most commonly associated with pharmaceutical and medical research. Basic descriptive and inferential statistical processes and procedures are presented as well as topics on the development of research protocols, survey research, and clinical drug investigations.

Credits: 3

PPRAG 1675

Management 1

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This is an introduction to management concepts, principles and techniques that are applied in contemporary pharmacy practice and healthcare administration. The course is organized into four broad areas of managerial activity and responsibility: financial management, marketing management, operations management with an emphasis on medication safety, and an introduction to pharmacoeconomics.

Credits: 2.5

PPRAG 1676

Evidence-Based Healthcare

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In this course, students will learn and apply skills that will improve their ability to practice evidence-based healthcare (EBHC). Students were introduced to the steps of practicing EBHC and learned about Step 1 (identify a clinical question) and Step 2 (find relevant literature) of practicing EBHC in previous courses. The course focuses on Step 3 (critically evaluate literature) and Step 4 (apply information to patients).

This experience focuses on developing advanced teamwork, communication and counseling skills among an interprofessional team of students. The course includes both in-class workshops and interprofessional team clinic sessions. Students will practice interprofessional teamwork skills with other healthcare professionals. Skills to be developed include conflict resolution, documentation, collaboration to improve the quality of patient care, shared therapeutic decision making, and direct patient care activities. Assessment will be two parts, including knowledge on course material as well as peer evaluations on the effectiveness of the student's teamwork and interactions.

This experience provides an opportunity for students to participate in basic patient care and distribution services in a community or ambulatory care pharmacy practice setting. Pharmacy students, under the supervision of adjunct clinical faculty, gain experience in community pharmacy practice including the areas of professional communications, drug information retrieval, patient counseling on prescription, and OTC medications, medication distribution, extemporaneous products, and application of federal and state pharmacy laws.

Credits: 6

Prerequisites

Passing grades in all PS-1 year didactic courses and an annual grade point average of 2.00 or above

PPRAG 1695

Introductory Institutional Experience

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This experience provides an opportunity for students to participate in basic patient care and distribution services in an institutional pharmacy practice setting. Pharmacy students, under the supervision of adjunct clinical faculty, gain experience in institutional pharmacy practice including the areas of professional and patient communications, drug information retrieval, medication distribution systems, sterile product preparation, interprofessional activities, and application of federal and state pharmacy laws.

Credits: 6

Prerequisites

Passing grades in all PS-1 year didactic courses and an annual grade point average of 2.00 or above

PPRAG 1701

Acute Care Management

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This course will integrate both the practice and patient care management of patients in the acute care (hospital and health-system) setting. Students will enhance their acute care knowledge through case-based lecture and clinical application in the corresponding Professional Skills Development course.

This course focuses on the skills necessary for pharmacist-directed management of common ambulatory medical conditions involving the cardiac, pulmonary, and endocrine systems. The course builds upon the fundamental information provided in the Integrated Sequence through the incorporation of disease prevention strategies and medication therapy management principles into complex patient casework.

This course prepares students to engage in the classic functions of a human resource manager in the pharmacy practice setting including planning, organizing, decision making, staffing, leading or directing, communicating, motivating and evaluating.

Credits: 2

PPRAG 1791

Advanced Community Pharmacy Practice Experience

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This course will build upon the foundation of the introductory pharmacy practice experiences provided in the PS-2 year and the didactic curriculum. Under preceptor supervision, the student participates in the required APPE community course.

Credits: 9

Prerequisites

Passing grades in all PS-2 and PS-3 courses and a cumulative grade point average for these courses of 2.00 or above

PPRAG 1792

Advanced Acute Care Pharmacy Practice Experience

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This course will build upon the foundation of the introductory pharmacy practice experiences provided in the PS-2 year and the didactic curriculum. Under preceptor supervision, the student participates in the required APPE acute care course.

Credits: 9

Prerequisites

Passing grades in all PS-2 and PS-3 courses and a cumulative grade point average for these courses of 2.00 or above

PPRAG 1793

Advanced Ambulatory Care Pharmacy Practice Experience

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This course will build upon the foundation of the introductory pharmacy practice experiences provided in the PS-2 year and the didactic curriculum. Under preceptor supervision, the student participates in the required APPE ambulatory care course.

Credits: 9

Prerequisites

Passing grades in all PS-2 and PS-3 courses and a cumulative grade point average for these courses of 2.00 or above

PPRAG 1794

Advanced Health System Pharmacy Practice Experience

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This course will build upon the foundation of the introductory pharmacy practice experiences provided in the PS-2 year and the didactic curriculum. Under preceptor supervision, the student participates in the required APPE health system course.

Credits: 9

Prerequisites

Passing grades in all PS-2 and PS-3 courses and a cumulative grade point average for these courses of 2.00 or above

PPRAG 1795

Patient Care Elective Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experience

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This course will build upon the foundation of the introductory pharmacy practice experiences provided in the PS-2 year and the didactic curriculum. Under preceptor supervision, the student participates in four required APPE patient care courses and two additional APPE experiences. Only one experience may be a non-patient care experience.

Credits: 9

Prerequisites

Passing grades in all PS-2 and PS-3 courses and a cumulative grade point average for these courses of 2.00 or above

PPRAG 1796

Elective Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experience

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This course will build upon the foundation of the introductory pharmacy practice experiences provided in the PS-2 year and the didactic curriculum. Under preceptor supervision, the student participates in the four required APPE courses and two additional APPE experiences. Only one experience may be a non-patient care experience.

Credits: 9

Prerequisites

Passing grades in all PS-2 and PS-3 courses and a cumulative grade point average for these courses of 2.00 or above

PSCIG 1540

Pharmaceutical Calculations

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This course introduces the student to the mathematical skills needed for drug product dispensing and compounding of dosage forms essential to the practice of pharmacy. Topics covered include systems of measurement, units of strength, density, dosage calculations, aliquoting, isotonicity, milliequivalents, and osmolarity. Calculations for the preparation of specific dosage forms such as capsules, suppositories, and parenterals will also be covered.

Credits: 2

PSCIG 1541

Pharmaceutics 1

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Pharmaceutics 1 & 2 are an integration of physical pharmacy, dosage forms, pharmacy calculations, and pharmaceutical compounding presented by dosage form classification. The course presents the principles important for the administration, preparation, stability, and performance of drug products. Pharmaceutics 1 is the first of two required courses in pharmaceutics for pharmacy students; specific dosage forms covered in this course include powders, capsules, tablets, suppositories, ointments, and transdermal patches.

Credits: 4

Prerequisites

PSCIG 1540 Pharmaceutical Calculations

PSCIG 1542

Pharmaceutics 2

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Pharmaceutics 1 & 2 are an integration of physical pharmacy, dosage forms, pharmacy calculations, and pharmaceutical compounding presented by dosage form classification. The course presents the principles important for the administration, preparation, stability, and performance of drug products. Pharmaceutics 2 is the second of two required courses in pharmaceutics for pharmacy students; specific dosage forms covered in this course include solutions, suspensions, emulsions, aerosols, ophthalmics, and parenterals.

Credits: 4

Prerequisites

PSCIG 1541 Pharmaceutics 1

PSCIG 1564

Pharmacokinetics and Biopharmaceutics

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This course introduces pharmacy students to the principles of biopharmaceutics and pharmacokinetics by exploring the relationships between physiology, mathematics, and pharmacokinetic theory and their clinical application. Students will learn how to calculate and interpret pharmacokinetic parameters, discuss and explain pharmacokinetic principles, assess factors that affect drug disposition, design and adjust drug dosage regimens, and predict and explain mechanisms involved in drug interactions.